Yi Mantian withdrew his gaze with satisfaction, turned around and patted Yi Zhengwei on the shoulder, "Dad's judgment is never wrong, Zhengwei, sometimes don't be too stubborn, give yourself and others a chance."
"Dad, you rarely praise someone like that, especially a woman."
Yi Mantian's face darkened, and he sighed deeply, "Zhengwei, I hope you won't be influenced by your mother."
"Mom passed away a long time ago," he said after a long pause, his tone calm. His eyes had already swept over Song Qing, who was waving at him. The second procedure for tonight had begun, and Dong Haifeng, the general manager of Hanlong, was already exchanging pleasantries with Song Jingmo and her father.
"Dad, I also hope that your choice today won't lead me down the same path you did." He pursed his lips, uttered these words, and quickly left.
All the emotions and resistance were left behind only a hurried silhouette, straight and somewhat stiff.
"Mr. Yi, thank you so much for your contributions to Fuhua. I believe that with your and Uncle Dong's participation, we will surely achieve great success!" Song Qing shook hands with him and raised his glass to toast Dong Haifeng and him.
"My dear niece, you're too kind. Let's make progress together." Dong Haifeng smiled broadly. Deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes softened his businessman-like face, making him appear somewhat gentle and amiable. However, a faint glint appeared in his narrowed eyes, revealing Dong Haifeng as a man of hidden depths.
"You've had a bit too much to drink," Yi Zhengwei suddenly whispered in her ear. Even this small gesture was met with a flurry of snaps from the prepared reporters.
Song Qing subtly took two steps back, casually taking the wine glass from Dong Haifeng's hand, indicating that they were ready to speak. She then moved to Song Jingmo's side. Xu Zhihan seemed somewhat unsettled tonight and didn't notice, as he was talking to Song Jingmo with his head down, clearly discussing technical issues. Neither of them looked relaxed.
Tonight, the entire 19th floor of Haotian was dedicated to Fuhua's victory celebration, making for a truly grand event. Song Jingmo had never imagined Fuhua would reach this level in his lifetime. He frequently inquired about the company's technological progress, and occasionally glanced proudly across the room, nodding in satisfaction.
The celebration banquet was in full swing, while Bill weaved through the crowd, searching everywhere for Song Qing. Wu Peng took Song Qing's words far too seriously, keeping a close eye on him. Knowing that Bill was returning to Haotian today, he insisted on giving a detailed report on all the work he had done over the past few days before allowing him to leave.
Just as he saw Song Qing standing on one side of the stage talking to the crowd, Dong Haifeng and Yi Zhengwei finished their speeches, and another round of cheers from the audience disrupted his view. Immediately afterwards, with a warm announcement from the emcee, Song Qing bowed to the crowd and stood in the center of the stage.
He had no choice but to wait aside. What Song Qing said was nothing more than polite platitudes, but everyone listened with great interest. He scratched his head and happened to see Yi Zhengwei and Xu Zhihan. He knew these two people, so he waved and walked over.
"Mr. Yi, Engineer Xu."
Yi Zhengwei looked up, smiled, shook hands with him, and then introduced him to Song Jingmo.
"Mr. Song, this is Ms. Song's colleague in the UK, Bill, who is now the general manager of Haotian."
Song Jingmo hummed in response, but upon seeing that it was a foreign young man, she lost interest and simply nodded politely before turning her gaze back to Song Qing.
"Ah, you're my future father-in-law!" Bill excitedly stepped forward and grabbed Song Jingmo's arm.
The three exchanged glances. Xu Zhihan's face darkened, and he fell silent. Everyone had always thought it was just his personality, and that he got along quite well with Song Qing. They never expected him to make a joke in this setting. Everyone present knew that his marriage to Song Qing was about to be finalized, and Bill's rude remark was incredibly distasteful. How could he possibly feel good about it?
Song Jingmo withdrew her hand, her face showing displeasure. "What's going on here? How can someone raised by Ke Ren be so unruly?"
"Father-in-law, what makes you say that? Lianxin and I got engaged in England, but she's been too busy to come and pay her respects."
"What? Qing'er is engaged to you?" Upon hearing this, Song Jingmo was about to explode with anger.
Xu Zhihan quickly helped the teacher up and winked at Bill.
Bill quickly waved his hand to indicate that he understood, bowed politely to Song Jingmo, and then stood aside. After watching the show, Yi Zhengwei took the wine offered by the waiter and pulled Bill aside to talk.
"Mr. Yi, it's rare that you can remain calm." Bill took the wine from his hand without any hesitation.
Yi Zhengwei smiled slightly. Bill was not as simple as he appeared. Everyone has a protective layer on their exterior, and he was no exception.
"Bill, besides Haotian, I didn't know you had any other background."
What do you mean by that?
Yi Zhengwei smiled but did not reply. In the past few days, not only had he been closely investigating Weisheng, but Bill hadn't been idle either. Clearly, he had received just as much information as Yi Zhengwei; otherwise, he wouldn't have remained inactive at this crucial juncture. They were both waiting.
"Weisheng's crisis," he whispered in Bill's ear.
Bill was taken aback, then realized his intention. Bill smiled and twirled the crystal glass in his hand, letting it reflect a cool, silvery light.
"He can't succeed," Bill said confidently.
Yi Zhengwei nodded.
"The important thing is whose help she is willing to accept."
Bill looked in Song Jingmo's direction, frowned, tilted his head back and drank half a glass of red wine in one gulp, then let out a long sigh.
He lacked confidence. He knew Song Qing too well; if her family faced a crisis, she would never accept Song Keren's help again. Losing just this one match was already enough to break her. And the power he possessed to help her, for various reasons, had to be temporarily hidden.
Yan Xunan, being the kind of person he is, would never allow Weisheng to fall into its current predicament. The fight with Xu Kai at the outdoor swimming pool that day had taught him a thing or two. Instead of showing outward dejection and defeat, Yan Xunan devised a brilliant plan to turn the tide and achieve two goals at once.
However, he didn't say this to Song Qing. Firstly, Song Qing might not believe him, and secondly, he wanted to take this opportunity to make Song Qing fully understand that the naive love that had brought her endless pain in her life should be extinguished at a suitable time! Even though this might cause her to break down.
He had no other choice; like Xu Zhihan, he had entered the fray too late. If he had arrived a few days earlier, perhaps the situation would be different now—it was inevitable, he consoled himself.
"You think you can?" His tone was full of wariness; he was even more uneasy about entrusting Song Qing to someone like this.
"Do you really think it could be him?" Yi Zhengwei asked nonchalantly, glancing at Xu Zhihan, who was chatting happily with Song Jingmo.
"And you, Chairman Song would never accept." Didn't that just prove it? Song Qing wouldn't go against Song Jingmo because of this. But Yi Zhengwei's expression showed that everything was already set in stone.
"If it were in England..." Bill nodded in agreement, no longer arguing with Yi Zhengwei, and just muttered a few words while looking at Song Qing's back.
Yi Zhengwei patted his shoulder and toasted him.
Returning to Linchuan is like returning to the origin.
Song Qing could never return to Haotian, nor could he ever return to England, and he could never truly give up everything in England for Song Qing.
He had this premonition ever since Song Qing left England.
The line between them, like an airplane's flight path, stretches further and further away. Even though they could travel back and forth in a day, they were destined to be separated by vast distances, each occupying their own territory.
He was simply disappointed that, although he had helped Song Qing escape the past, he could see no light in the present or the future.